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Friday, February 08, 2008

Lack of foresight

I wasn't sure about whether I should talk about this or not, because after all, it affected people we know (or at least my wife and her mom know). But the story has made it to the local media now, so I better discuss this issue, especially considering that some people who read my blog are thinking about (or in the process of) coming to Canada.

This family, that Gaby knows through the KW Spanish Cultural Society (to which she belongs), received the visit of their sister who came from Chile. This lovely lady (Gaby and her mom told me she was very funny) arrived in Kitchener last August, but didn't purchase any travel insurance, something that many people coming from our region do, regrettably.

Unfortunately, she suffered a stroke last week and had to be hospitalized; even worse, she passed away yesterday. Now her family has to deal with a huge bill from the local hospital, because the treatment she received averaged $2,500 per day. We're talking about no less than $20,000!

Of course, they don't have the money to pay such a bill, and I imagine they're trying to figure out what to do. A local radio announced last Saturday that a bank account had been created so people could make donations. The family is dealing with all this while they're getting ready to send the remains back to Chile.

Here's the end -sad end indeed- of the story. Now for the lesson: Never -ever- go to another country without purchasing travel insurance. Sure it costs about $350, perhaps $400 for about 90 days. But we're talking about peace of mind here. Should anything happened, you'll be fully covered. That alone, in places like USA or Canada, is priceless.

We -people from Latin America- don't normally 'believe' in insurance because Insurance Companies always find a way not to pay you down there. But they work differently in here.

Don't gamble with your health. Please buy insurance. If you think that you 'lost' money because nothing happened to you, think of stories like the one I mentioned above. There's nothing we can do for this poor family, unfortunately; but we can surely learn from their terrible experience.

Paola (from Vicente Lopez, Argentina) has written an excellent post about travel insurance not too long ago. Please consider taking a look at it.

5 comments:

I read about this just today. Shawn and I were commenting about what a sad story. I hope that this lady's family gets things worked out. It sounds like a nightmare... I was wondering how the family is responsible. Did they agree to pay the bill when the lady was admitted? I suppose they did. Travel insurance is a good idea even if you are going province to province. My cousin got sick while visiting Nova Scotia, and it nightmare for her, too. Many people assume that because it is within Canada, it is all the same.

Biddie, I don't know if the family is 'responsible', but it seems they are 'liable'. They're the next of kin, and the hospital will surely ask for their bill to be paid, unless they cancel the debt for 'humanitarian reasons'. But that would mean that we pay, right?

For your english speaking audience, here are a few tips on how to identify a person who's having a stroke. I have received it a couple of weeks ago and I think it is very important that we all know about this.

StrokeA neurologist stated that if the victim of a stroke can be treated within within three hours of the episode, the effects of the crisis can completely reversed.

He says that the most difficult part is that the stroke be identified, diagnosed and that the patient sees a doctor in less than three hours.

Recognize the symptoms of a strokeAsk three very simple questions to the person in crisis:

1. Ask him/her to SMILE

2. Ask him/her to lift BOTH ARMS

3. Ask him/her to PRONOUNCE ONE VERY SIMPLE SENTENCE (eg The sun is beautiful today)

If the person has difficulty in performing any of these tasks, call an ambulance and describe the symptoms to the paramedic.

According to a cardiologist, if all those who receive this information sends it to 10 people, at least a life could be saved.